Container Closure

ABSTRACT

A one-piece container closure with a collar, stiff planar triangular leaflets attached by linear hinges to the collar, and thin flexible foldable webs attached to and extending between the leaflets. The leaflets are flat with the webs folded beneath in closed closure position. The leaflets are pivoted upwardly with webs unfolded therebetween in open position. An integral cap is attached to the collar by a snap-action bow-tie hinge. A central pin on the cap seals with the leaflets when the cap is closed. The closure is integrally molded in open position with raised leaflets and unfolded webs, leaflets then being lowered and the webs folded to closed position while the closure is still warm, the cap then being closed, and the closed closure then being annealed to establish the elastic positional memory of the leaflets and hinges in the closed position when product is not being dispensed through the closure.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of Utility application Ser. No.11/062,192, filed Feb. 18, 2005, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/920,941, filed on Aug. 18, 2004, namingJohn Eimer as inventor. Applicant claims the benefit of the priorapplications.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to plastic closures for fluid containersthat dispense product through a container opening upon application ofhand pressure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior art closures for fluid containers are myriad in design andconstruction. These often require complicated molding, assembly ofparts, are expensive to manufacture, do not close and seal properly, donot provide a variable closure opening dependent on the hand pressureused to dispense, are subject to opening upon inadvertent squeezing,and/or are of a shape not conducive to easy handling and shipping.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 1,977,227 (1934) discloses a closure whereinpanels are separately placed in a mold in an overall frusto-conicalshape, with rubber then poured over and under the panels to form aresilient part between the panels. An opening slit is then cut in therubber. The frusto-conical shape of the panels is the closed position ofthe closure, and the panels cannot be folded to a flat position for easeof handling and shipping. Accordingly, the rubber is not folded ineither the open or closed positions of the closure, and the sides of thepanels are always separated. This multi-piece closure among otherdeficiencies is labor intensive and expensive to manufacture.

A further prior art closure is shown in PCT International PublicationNumber WO 82/01360 (1982), having a complex arrangement of triangularpanels in overlapping layers of inner and outer seals, or a single layerof such panels but without interconnecting webs or membranes or othersealing means between the panels. In the latter instance, reliablesealing is unlikely, and opening upon inadvertent squeezing is notprevented.

Other prior art closures are known that have slitted configurations orvarious other constructions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is intended to provide a plastic one-piececontainer closure which is strongly constructed, easily and cheaplymanufactured, requires no assembly, functions reliably and efficiently,closes and seals properly, provides a variably-sized closure openingdepending on hand pressure of the user, does not inadvertently open, andis easy to handle and ship by virtue of its shape. The closure will beused to dispense lotions and various other fluid products from acontainer.

The closure has an annular collar for attachment to the container aboutits opening. A plurality of leaflets are attached by hinges to thecollar, and a plurality of flexible and foldable webs are attached toand extend between adjacent pairs of leaflets. The individual leafletsare stiff planar members, and the hinges for the leaflets are eachlinear rather than the curvilinear arcs shown in co-pending patentapplication Ser. No. 10/920,941. The leaflets extend adjacent oneanother in an essentially flat horizontal configuration in the closedposition of the closure with the webs folded in pleats beneath theadjacent leaflets. When the container is squeezed to dispense product,the leaflets pivot upwardly at their hinges under the influence of fluidpressure. The leaflets separate from one another upon upward pivotingand the webs unfold and extend between the separated leaflets to formwith the leaflets the closure dispensing opening.

The leaflets are triangular in shape, having long sides that convergetoward the central axis of the closure. The webs are attached to thelong sides of the leaflets, and the linear hinges are attached to theshort sides of the leaflets. The flat (planar) leaflets andstraight-line (linear) hinges assist in providing a smooth opening andclosing of the closure.

A cap for the closure is integrally attached to the collar by asnap-action, bow-tie hinge. The cap has a central pin in itsundersurface that seals against the radially innermost portions of theleaflets upon closing the cap onto the closure.

The closure and cap for the present invention may be molded as a unitarymember. The closure is initially molded in the open position with theleaflets extending angularly upward and separated from one another, andwith the webs unfolded and extending between adjacent pairs of leaflets.Thereafter, while the leaflets and hinges are warm, the leaflets arepivoted downwardly to the closed closure position where the leafletsextend adjacent one another in an essentially planar surface and thewebs are folded beneath the adjacent leaflets. The cap is then closed onthe closure and the cap and closure are removed from the mold. Theclosed closure with its closed cap may then be annealed to break theas-molded open positional memory of the closure and establish the closedclosure position as the positional elastic memory of the closure whenproduct is not being dispensed by the user.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the closure of the present invention inclosed position but with its then normally closed cap open for clarityof illustration;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the closure of the present invention inopen position;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the closure of the present inventionin closed position but with its normally closed cap open;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the closure of the present invention inclosed position but with its normally closed cap open;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view taken from FIG. 3 and illustrating incross-section the hinging of the leaflets to the collar in the closureof the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the closure of the present inventionin open position.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the closure of the present invention inopen position; and

FIG. 8 is a rear elevational view of the closure of the presentinvention in closed position and generally illustrating a bow-tie hingeconnecting the closure cap to the closure collar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, plastic closure 10 is shown having annularcollar 11 for attachment to a fluid container (not shown) about adispensing opening in the container. Attachment for example may be bythreads 12 (see FIG. 3), snap fittings (not shown), or other knownattachment means.

A plurality of stiff planar leaflets 13 are positioned at the top ofcollar 11 and are attached by integral linear hinges 14 (see inparticular FIG. 5) to collar 1. Eight such leaflets 13 are shown,although the number may obviously vary. In the closed position ofclosure 10, leaflets 13 are shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5 extendingadjacent one another in an essentially flat horizontal surface. Eachleaflet 13 is a triangular shape having two long sides 15 that convergein a direction away from the hinge 14 associated with the particularleaflet 13. The long sides 15 of each leaflet 13 lie adjacent the longsides of adjacent leaflets 13 in the closed position of closure 10. Theshort side 25 of each leaflet 13 lies adjacent the straight-line(linear) hinge 13 associated with that leaflet.

Integrally attached to and extending between the leaflets 13 are aplurality of thin, flexible and foldable webs 16, webs 16 each extendingbetween and attached to the long sides 15 of two adjacent leaflets 13.Webs 16 might be of the order of 0.005 inches thick and leaflets 13might be of the order of 0.030 inches thick, solely as an example. Inthe closed position of closure 10, each web 16 folds beneath theadjacent pair of leaflets 13 and the long leaflet sides 15 lie adjacentone another separated by say 0.010 inches solely as an example. When theclosure opens, the long leaflet sides 15 will be spaced from one anotheras shown in FIG. 2.

Closure 10 will generally be attached to a squeezable fluid container,for example. When the container is manually squeezed, the pressure ofthe fluid to be dispensed forces the leaflets 13 from their essentiallyplanar FIG. 1 position to the FIG. 2 position wherein each leaflet haspivoted upwardly about its hinge 14 and is now spaced from its adjacentleaflets. Webs 16 have now unfolded and straightened out betweenleaflets 13. Dispensing opening 17 is thereby created in closure 10 toallow dispensing of the fluid product. Less hand pressure on thecontainer will create a smaller opening 17, and more hand pressure willcreate a larger opening. This open condition of the closure 10 isillustrated in FIGS. 2, 6 and 7, with all but one of the webs 16 notshown in FIG. 6 for clarity of illustration.

After the desired amount of product has been dispensed by closure 10 andthe squeezing pressure is released, leaflets 13 will pivot backdownwardly about their thin integral membrane hinges 14 to again assumethe FIG. 1 closed position of closure 10, with webs 16 once againfolding up between and beneath adjacent leaflets 13. This pivotingdownwardly of leaflets 13 is assisted by the suction of product backinto the container after the container is no longer squeezed to dispenseproduct.

Closure 10 also includes cap 20 integrally attached to collar 11 bybow-tie hinge 21. Cap 20 has central pin 22 and surrounding surface 23extending from the under surface (when closed) of the cap 20. Bow-tiehinge 21 snaps between the open and closed positions of cap 20 onclosure 10, and may be one of various known snap-action hinge designs inthe prior art. When cap 20 is in its closed position and leaflets 13 arein their essentially flat orientation, central pin 22 extends intocentral opening 18 at the central axis of the closure defined by theradially inward tips 19 (see FIG. 4) of leaflets 13. Tips 19 sealagainst central pin 22. Under surface 23 of cap 20 may act to holdleaflets 13 flat in the closed cap position. Snap means may be providedfor cap 20 to snap at its periphery onto the periphery of collar 11 inthe closed position. The snap-action bow-tie hinge 21 acts to hold cap20 in closed position even in the presence of accidental squeezing ofthe container.

Collar 11, leaflets 13, hinges 14, webs 16, cap 20 and bow-tie hinge 21may all be integrally molded with one another into a one-piece plasticclosure, in a single molding operation. The plastic may bepolypropylene, for example. In particular, the closure is molded in asingle molding operation of all the parts into the orientation of partsas shown in FIG. 2. Webs 16 are therefore molded in their unfoldedposition. Thereafter, while the hinges 14 and leaflets 13 are stillwarm, the leaflets 13 are pivoted downwardly to the closed FIG. 1position. Webs 16 accordingly fold under the leaflets 13. Cap 20 is thenswung upwardly (see FIG. 3) and snapped over and onto the top of collar11, and the closed closure 10 is removed from the mold.

When closure 10 is thereafter to be used by a consumer and cap 20 isopened to dispense product through the closure, it is desirable that theelastic positional memory of the leaflets 13 and hinges 14 be in theclosed FIG. 1 position except when product is being dispensed. To obtainthis result, a further annealing operation may be carried out upon theclosed closure 10, with its cap also closed, after the closed and cappedclosure 10 is removed from the mold. In this event, the closure will beheated at a sufficient time and temperature to establish the closedelastic positional memory of the leaflets 13 and hinges 14. The time andtemperature will vary depending on the material and dimensions of theclosure. When the cap is thereafter opened and after product isdispensed through the closure in its FIG. 2 position, the leaflets willthen automatically return to their closed FIG. 1 position in the absenceof the product container being squeezed.

The several features of the present invention described above togetherdefine a unique and simple one-piece container closure which is easilymanufactured, inexpensive, requires no assembly, provides a variableflow depending on hand pressure, prevents dispensing in the presence ofinadvertent squeezing of the container, functions reliably andefficiently for the consumer, is easily handled and shipped, and may beplaced upside down on a surface if desired.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that variationsand/or modifications may be made to the present invention withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. The presentembodiment is, therefore, to be considered as illustrative and notrestrictive. It should also be understood that positional terms as usedin the specification are used and intended in relation to thepositioning shown in the drawings, and are not otherwise intended to berestrictive.

1. A method of forming a plastic closure for a fluid container, saidclosure having an annular collar, a plurality of leaflets, a pluralityof flexible and foldable webs and a cap, comprising: molding saidclosure with said leaflet members attached by hinges to the collar andsaid webs attached to and extending between adjacent pairs of leaflets,further comprising initially molding said closure in the open positionwith said leaflets extending upwardly at an angle and separated from oneanother, with said webs unfolded and extending between the separatedleaflets, and with said cap in an open position; thereafter pivotingsaid leaflets, while said hinges are warm, downwardly to a positionwhere said leaflets extend adjacent one another in an essentially planarsurface and said webs fold beneath the adjacent leaflets; closing saidclosure cap; and annealing said closed closure with its closed cap tobreak the as-molded open positional memory to establish a closed closurepositional memory when product is not being dispensed through theclosure by the user.
 2. The method of claim 1, including molding theclosure as an integral one-piece closure.